I traveled picked Lily up in Fürth last night and drove it back to the town where we live. I'm not sure this was technically legal since I don't know how roadworthy the car is (or even what the German standards of roadworthiness are since I got my license in Ireland). According to the guy who I bought it from, it hadn't been driven more than about 5 miles in the last 3 years, so I didn't know what to expect but I also didn't want to pay for towing so I decided to chance my arm and see how far we could make it.
Surprisingly, we made it all the way back to the house without incident. Lily had its first Autobahn drive when the GPS sent us in an unexpected direction (!!) and I got to change a very flat tire this morning, but otherwise no complaints. I was delighted to discover that I still remembered how to change a tire (thanks to my dad for drilling that into my head!) and that I was able to stomp on the tire iron hard enough to break through who knows how many years of rust on the bolts to get the old tire off and replace it with an even older but more air-tight one. Marathon training paid off!
While I was looking for the spare and all the goodies I need to change the tire, I also found a nice cache of tools that the previous owner, dear (probably deceased) Hans (and yes, that is the original owner's real name...) had left in the car for me. He left a spare generator belt, a full-size spare, a first aid kit that appears to be older than I am, and a very wide selection of random cloths - hopefully not cut from old underwear. I had it inspected this morning and for what it's been through it's in good shape. It has no rust whatsoever on the undercarriage, which means that the other cars will be sleeping outside from now on, and solid brakes so my biggest worries are resolved. Driving is good, being able to stop is better!
It needs three things repaired in order to pass the next inspection:
1) The windshield wipers don't work. At all. A fuse is blown, but it doesn't seem to be the one for the wipers. I'm going to try to find some ceramic fuses somewhere though and see if this fixed the problem. Otherwise, it'll just have to wait until I get my repair manuals in from amazon.
2) The ball joints in the front "have air in them". That's what the German guy doing the inspection said anyways. I'm not sure if this is a do-it-yourself-er or a pay someone else to deal with it problem. I also wonder if its just a consequence of the car being 40 years old and not having any major work done on it or if it means I should look at the front end more closely.
3) The exhaust pipes are rusted through. This shouldn't be as difficult of a fix, and it certainly goes some of the way towards explaining the headache I had after doing this morning's errands with the car.
Haynes and Bentley manuals are on their way and I've asked my folks back in America to look for my copy of Muir's How to Keep Your VW. I had a green one and a blue one, but I think I gave my dad the blue one...or maybe it was the other way around...either way...I need one and I know that I've had two so hopefully one will emerge from the vortex of my parents' basement.
I have access to tools and other things that I'll need for the project, so I'm going to try to DIY as much as I can. Since I have access to a second car it won't be a problem if the bug is off the road for a few days at a time while I wait for parts/healing of bloody knuckles/reduced blood pressure. I'm thinking mechanical-body-interior should be the order of things. Other than a few annoying rust patches, the only body parts that might need to be replaced are the engine shelf and one of the front fenders. It seems to run well, but considering that it probably never had any major work done, I'm considering overhauling the engine completely, but at the same time I find myself thinking that that would be overkill and that there's no need to mess up a good engine. Then again, I'm concerned about the integrity of the engine seals...after 40s years I can't expect too much from them!
A considerable amount of time was spent at a gas station near where I got the car thinking about whether or not the car needs a lead additive. My '71 bus in America didn't need it, but Germany, German cars, and German fuel are all different. This morning, while sifting through Han's tool collection, I found a half empty bottle of lead additive in the front of the car, so my question has been answered and the weird shaking from the engine has been (partially) explained. I am concerned about my car's lead addiction though...Is it time for an intervention?
It's nice to have a VW again - so much more fun than the Micra!
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